THE CARE OF PHEASANTS IN CAPTIVITY 



Under the heading of Captivity in the accounts of the various groups of pheasants 

 in the present Monograph, I have in many cases given brief directions as to care, 

 feeding and breeding. In this final chapter I have summarized this information, 

 seeking to include only the more salient, vital facts necessary to the successful 

 collecting, housing, feeding and breeding of these splendid birds. In this I have 

 received important aid from my colleague, Mr. Lee S. Crandall, my successor as 

 Curator of Birds in the New York Zoological Park, who has gone over the field 

 carefully and collated and sifted the data, both as presented in the more reliable books 

 and as worked out at first hand in the Zoological Park. 



At the present time pheasants are reared in every civilized country, and a host 

 of books and pamphlets concerning their care and breeding are to be had in many 

 languages. These birds are so homogeneous in general habits that directions for the 

 rearing and feeding of one species suffices for almost all. 



Pheasants in captivity fall naturally into two groups — those which are more or less 

 closely confined in cages and aviaries, and those which are kept and propagated in 

 semi-freedom, for sporting purposes. The treatment of the birds of these groups varies 

 considerably, and therefore will be considered here under separate heads. 



AVIARY PHEASANTS 



All of the species of pheasants which have reached civilization alive with the 

 exception of the members of the genus Ithagenes, have thriven to some degree in 

 confinement. Some, of course, seem more adaptable than others, and have bred and 

 multiplied where their less versatile relatives have been content with merely living. 

 Many of the latter, however, are of such rarity in captivity that their failure to breed 

 may often be attributable to lack of mates or the absence of suitable surroundings, 

 and there is no reason for doubting that any species of pheasant which will live in 

 captivity can be induced to breed if properly treated. 



AVIARIES 



With the exception of the Argus, Firebacks and the more delicate of the Peacock 

 Pheasants, all of the species are able to endure considerable cold, especially if provided 

 with some shelter. Dampness is the greatest enemy of the pheasant in confinement. 

 If the health of the birds is to be maintained, undue exposure to this condition must 

 be avoided. 



There are two classes of structures suitable for the aviary pheasant — the more 



pretentious permanent building with runs attached, and single enclosures, in which 



203 



